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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23012536">s o u l m a t e s .</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/meredithflynn/pseuds/meredithflynn'>meredithflynn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Direction (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adorable, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Baby Harry Styles, Baby Louis Tomlinson, Cute, Cute Louis, Engagement, Extremely Fluff, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Innocent Louis, Jealous Harry, Kid Fic, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Older Harry, Possessive Harry, Protective Harry, True Love, Younger Louis Tomlinson, kinda unrealistic but whatever</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:55:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,147</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23012536</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/meredithflynn/pseuds/meredithflynn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>❝ i took one look at you and i knew you were special ❞</p><p>curly and blue-eyes met at a very young age, and they have gone through a lot in life together. to say it simply, they are soulmates.</p><p>or, a fluffy fic documenting harry and louis' relationship since the day they met.</p><p>[completed on the 28th of september, 2019]</p><p>a spin-off of 'seven days of larry - day 7'</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. s o u l m a t e s .</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>basically this has been a book i have planned for nearly a year. i wrote about three chapters and then put it aside to focus entirely on my oneshot book - but now i have decided to put all my focus on this book and get it done!</p><p>this book is basically a book with lots of flashbacks, as well as descriptions of their present life. it recounts harry and louis' relationship from the very beginning, since the day that they met when they were about toddlers.</p><p>this book is terribly short - around ten chapters - but it's gonna be a pretty sweet, fluffy and kind of heartwarming book. it's also a little unrealistic but just ignore that :) </p><p>i've realized that the ages are a little confusing because this book jumps around a lot, so here are the ages of louis and harry in each chapter:</p><p>
  <em>chapter i, ii, iii, iv : louis is sixteen, harry is eighteen</em>
</p><p>
  <em>chapter v, vi : louis is seventeen, harry is nineteen</em>
</p><p>
  <em>chapter vii, viii : louis is nineteen, harry is twenty one</em>
</p><p>
  <em>chapter ix : louis is twenty, harry is twenty two</em>
</p><p>
  <em>epilogue: louis is twenty three, harry is twenty five<em></em></em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>also, this book was originally published on the 28th of september, 2019, on wattpad as a little anniversary gift, i guess :)))</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>happy 28th guys!</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>i hope you'll enjoy it! </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>all the love,</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>the author .x</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>p.s. the lowercase is intended :)</em>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. the one where they meet</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>harry and louis were cuddling under the blankets on harry's bed.</p><p>  they usually hung out at harry's house because harry only had one sibling while louis had six, and it was a lot quieter and calmer without hordes of girls (and one baby boy) around.</p><p>  harry lay on his back, louis lying on his chest. harry had one hand behind his head and one hand absentmindedly combing through louis' hair. louis was snuggled up against harry's chest, enjoying his boyfriend's warmth and musky smell.</p><p>  they'd been dating for a few months now, but they'd been best friends for a long time before that. harry had always crushed on louis and louis had always crushed on harry, which was pretty apparent to their other best friends, niall, zayn and liam. however, it had taken several years and a lot of interference from the other three boys until harry and louis had confessed to each other.</p><p>  "what are you thinking about?" harry asked softly.</p><p>  "how we met," louis said.</p><p>  harry chuckled quietly. both boys remembered the day quite clearly, although they'd been quite young when they'd first met.</p><p>-<br/>
<em><br/>
thirteen years ago</em></p><p>
  <em>  harry was dressed up in layers of puffy coats, his head covered in a snug beanie and his neck protected by a warm scarf. his hands were covered in gloves and he had his boots on, and he waddled after gemma into the snow, squealing when gemma picked up a bit of it to throw at harry. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>  harry immediately got to work throwing some snowballs back, and the siblings yelped and laughed as they pelted snowballs back and forth (harry getting hit quite often and gemma quite not as often, since gemma was older and more able). after a while, they both got a little tired and they sat in the snow, taking a break. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>  gemma suddenly told harry, "i need the bathroom. stay here and don't go anywhere, don't follow anyone, understand?" </em>
</p><p>
  <em>  harry nodded. gemma stood up and patted the pom-pom of harry's beanie before heading off to the park's bathroom. harry watched her disappear before turning back to the snow, tossing it around in his hands. he didn't know what to do and his butt was starting to get cold from sitting on the snow, but he didn't really want to stand up either.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  his thoughts were distracted when he heard an adorable little giggle. he looked over at the source of the sound, and saw a little boy with a woman who was probably his mother. the boy was wrapped up in warm winter clothing too, so harry couldn't really see his face, but harry could see the boy's beautiful blue eyes and was immediately fascinated with them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  harry was bored, and he was curious about the little boy, who seemed to be very happy as he made a snowman with his mother. they weren't too far away from where harry was and gemma would still be able to find him, so harry waddled over to say hello, but his foot got caught in the snow and he fell over right in front of the little boy and his mom. he mumbled, "oops."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  the little boy hid behind his mother, but peeked his head out and said shyly, "hi." harry's heart thumped a little. the boy's voice was so soft and high and raspy and endearing.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  the mother held her hand out to harry, who took it gratefully. "are you okay, dear?" she asked kindly. "what are you doing here all alone?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  " 'm not alone," harry said, voice muffled in his scarf. he got up and brushed the snow off. " 'm here with my sister gemma, but she went to the bathroom."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "well, she better come back quickly. it's not very wise of her to leave you here tripping in the snow right in front of our snowman, is it, dear?" harry blushed at the mother's words and looked at his feet. "i - i just wanted to come say hello."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "that's alright, dear. what's your name?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "harry," harry said.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  the mother nudged the little boy, who poked his head out a little further and said bashfully, "i'm louis."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  louis took one look at harry's emerald green eyes, wild chocolate curls, and beautiful dimples, and felt his heart thump, too.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "hi louis, nice to meet you," harry said, smiling at louis. louis returned a shy little smile.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "are you guys building a snowman?" harry asked, turning to the half-completed snowman.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "we are! would you like to help, harry?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  the three ended up completing the snowman together, harry chatting with louis while louis answered, still feeling a little shy and bewildered around the curly-haired boy. jay watched them with a twinkle in her eye.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  louis slowly started to warm up to harry and the two boys talked away.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  when they were almost finished, gemma ran over and called, "harry, what are you doing disturbing those nice people over there?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "he's not disturbing us, he's just making new friends," jay said. "are you the sister that harry speaks of?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "yes, i am."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "i'm jay, and this is louis. harry just came over to say hi and now he's helping us build our snowman," jay explained.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "hi gems!" harry said cheerfully.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  gemma checked her watch. "harry, mum's about to come and get us."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "awwww." harry pouted.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "don't be sad, dear. if you want to play with louis again, i can give your mother my number and you guys can see each other again," jay said.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  harry and louis' eyes lit up. "yay!" they cheered in unison, harry very loudly and louis a lot quieter.</em>
</p><p><em>  jay smiled knowingly. anne came along a few minutes later, and, as promised, the two mothers exchanged numbers. harry, gemma, and anne left, harry waving and waving at louis as he had to be forcefully dragged away. louis had gotten a little shy again, and was hiding behind jay as he waved.</em><br/>
<br/>
- </p><p>  harry and louis hung out a lot after that, even though louis was a few years younger. when harry started school, they had to be separated. however, louis was really smart and had managed to skip a couple of grades, so he and harry were in the same year and spent a lot of time together.</p><p>  "you know, i think that's the day i started liking you," louis confessed. "when i saw you, i just... realized you were special."</p><p>  harry grinned. "i know. jay told me that she never saw you warm up to someone so fast, you were so shy and quiet."</p><p>  louis shrugged. "i said you were special."</p><p>  "mhmm." harry's heart warmed and louis' words. "i think the day i met you was probably the best day of my life."</p><p>  "when you said you liked me, that was probably the best day of my life," louis said shyly.</p><p>  "awww," harry cooed. "you're such a sap."</p><p>  "i get it from you." louis hid his face in harry's chest as his cheeks started to redden.</p><p>  harry smiled fondly at louis, and, without thinking, said something that he'd been thinking about saying for a long time. "i love you."</p><p>  louis tensed, and harry's heart started to race. oh no. i shouldn't have said that, louis obviously doesn't love me back, i - </p><p>  louis tilted his head up and said, "i love you too." harry breathed a sigh of relief, heart filling up with happiness once he heard those words leave louis' mouth. louis leaned up and their lips met in a sweet, gentle kiss, full of love and dreams and hopes for the future. </p><p>  they pulled away slowly and put their foreheads together, staring into each other's eyes.</p><p>  "god, you're beautiful," harry said after a while.</p><p>  louis blushed and looked away. harry cooed and pressed a kiss to louis' cheek. "you're so adorable, boo. like a little baby hedgehog."</p><p>  louis pouted cutely and turned to face harry again. " 'm not a hedgehog."</p><p>  "you are, you're exactly like a hedgehog." harry pulled louis closer. "my hedgehog."</p><p>  "well, you're a frog, then," louis said in retaliation. </p><p> harry huffed. "fine. as long as i'm your frog." </p><p>  "my frog," louis confirmed, then leaned in for another kiss. </p><p>  "i love you," harry mumbled against louis' lips, just so he could hear louis say it again.</p><p>  "i love you too," louis said, making harry smile widely and louis flush.</p><p>  harry cuddled louis closer and tucked his head under harry's chin, his arm circling louis' waist and gently rubbing his sides. he felt so happy that they'd confessed their love for each other. they'd already been dating, but maybe harry had felt unsure of whether louis was really dating him or not. but they'd said their 'i love you's and now harry knew that louis was his, truly his. he bent down and planted a kiss on louis' forehead. "mine," he murmured softly.</p><p>  "yours," louis agreed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. the one with the sleepover // part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>a few months later</em>
</p><p>  "hazza?"</p><p>  harry woke up to a tearful Louis trying to shake him awake.</p><p>  "mm... lou?" harry opened his eyes groggily, voice rough from sleep.</p><p>  "hazza, wake up."</p><p>  harry noticed the quiver in louis' voice and worry filled him. "what's wrong?"</p><p>  "i... i'm scared for tomorrow," louis whispered.</p><p>  they would be going on a week-long trip the next day for their history class. louis had never liked going on trips without his family - he got so homesick without his mom and siblings there.</p><p>  harry cooed. "aw, babe. it's gonna be okay, yeah?"</p><p>  louis sniffled. "b-but, haz, you know i get so homesick, a-and momma and all the girls and ernie won't be there."</p><p>  "but i will." harry pulled him into his arms. "and i'll be there for you the entire time, okay?"</p><p>  "okay." louis buried his face into harry's neck.</p><p>  harry rubbed his shoulder gently. "hey, you'll be okay. remember when we were little and you got homesick at sleepovers?"</p><p>  "mhmm."</p><p>  "and i helped you, didn't i? so everything's gonna be alright."</p><p>-<br/>
<em><br/>
fourteen years ago</em></p><p>
  <em>  "more! higher!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  louis squealed, going higher and higher as harry pushed the swing.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  then it got a little too high and louis got a little frightened, grasping the swing tightly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "haz!" louis whined. "stop, pwease."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  harry stopped pushing and let louis swing back and forth several times before the swing stilled.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "that was scary," louis admitted, hopping off the swing. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "swings aren't scary, loubear."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "it was when it got too high," louis protested. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "okay, well, it's my turn now!" harry was about to hop onto the swing when anne stuck her head out of the door.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "louis, dear! your mother's here, it's time to go!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  both louis and harry pouted simultaneously. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "but, momma, i still wanna play with lou!" harry complained.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "i'm sorry, sweetie, but it's time for louis to go home. you can play tomorrow, okay? you've still got a few more minutes while jay is drinking her tea."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  anne disappeared back into the house, leaving two sad boys who didn't want to leave each other.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "i wish you could stay for longer," harry said.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "me too." louis leaned on the swing. "i always have to leave so soon."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  harry's eyes suddenly lit up. "hey! i have an idea! what if we had a sleepover?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  louis looked up at him with big eyes. "really?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "yeah! i'm sure mum would allow it, we live so close after all! and we could play for ages!" harry became more and more confident with his idea. "do you wanna?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "ummmmmm." louis bit his lip, a little hesitant. "i don't know... i've never stayed the night away from home and from momma before."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "come on, lou! it'll be fun! we can build a blanket fort and watch movies!" harry said excitedly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "ummm... okay then!" louis would agree to anything if it meant he could play with harry.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  the two ran back inside to ask their mums would allow the sleepover.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  jay and anne glanced over at each other, and jay said slowly, "i think it's okay, as long as anne allows it, of course."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  anne thought for a moment, and said, "well, i guess it's okay, but we don't really have an extra room ready right now. louis, you can sleep in harry's room if you don't mind?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "okay!" louis was a little worried about being away from home, but he was sure he could handle it. he wanted to play with harry.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "alright then, i guess i'll be leaving and i'll come pick lou up tomorrow morning?" jay was about to get up when anne quickly stopped her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "you can stay for dinner! i have enough food for all of us."  anne looked at louis with a small smile. "besides, i don't think louis wants to be apart from his mummy for too long, yeah?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  louis blushed. it was true - although he wanted to spend more time with harry, he didn't want to spend too long away from jay.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  gemma soon returned from school, having stayed after to help her teachers with some displays.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "hi gems!" harry called from the kitchen, where he and louis were helping jay and anne with dinner.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "hi gemmie," louis said shyly when gemma appeared at the kitchen door. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "hey, lou!" gemma grinned fondly at the little boy. she had to admit, her little brother's best friend was adorable.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "louis is staying with us for the night," anne told gemma as she sliced up some carrots. "you and harry will make sure he's happy tonight, yeah?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "okay, momma. i'm gonna go to my room and do my homework."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "buh-bye, gemmie," louis said, waving his tiny fingers at gemma.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "bye, loubear!" gemma waved at louis and then headed upstairs.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  when dinner was ready, harry went upstairs to call gemma down while louis tried to set the table, barely being able to set the plates on the table as he was about the height of the table himself. when gemma and harry came down, all they could see was a table with tiny, chubby hands trying to push plates onto its surface.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  gemma chuckled. "aw, lou, you're too short."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  " 'm not short!" louis huffed. " 'm BIG!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  harry laughed. "nah, you're not, loubear. c'mon, i'll help you out."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  harry took the plates from louis' hands at set them while gemma went to get the cutlery.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "i don't need help," louis protested.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  "whatever helps you sleep at night, boo." harry finished with the plates and turned to see a pouting louis. "aww, c'mon. you're really too short to set the table."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  " 'm not," louis mumbled, although he knew what harry said was true.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  he always felt a little left out because harry and gemma were so much bigger than him. louis was small even for his age, and he wished he was bigger so he could be the same as harry.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  he wasn't going to be shooting up anytime soon, but he dreamed that when he was an adult, he'd be really tall - hopefully a little over six foot.</em>
</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. the one with the sleepover // part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <strong> he wasn't going to be shooting up anytime soon, but he dreamed that when he was an adult, he'd be really tall - hopefully a little over six foot.</strong>
  </em>
</p>
<p>  -</p>
<p>  harry smirked. "aww, you wanted to be six foot."</p>
<p>  louis pouted. "i'm close enough, i'm 5'9."</p>
<p>  harry snorted. "yeah, right."</p>
<p>  "hazzie! i'm 5'9!"</p>
<p>  "yeah, okay, okay, you're 5'9. but you're still so tiny." harry booped louis' nose affectionately, cooing when louis immediately scrunched up his nose.</p>
<p>   " 'm not tiny," louis insisted. </p>
<p>  "you so are." </p>
<p>  louis huffed, making his fringe puff up momentarily. "you're so mean, hazzie."</p>
<p>  "aww, sorry babe." harry cuddled louis closer and pecked his forehead. "you're so cute."</p>
<p>-<br/><em><br/>  he wasn't going to be shooting up anytime soon, but he dreamed that when he was an adult, he'd be really tall - hopefully a little over six foot.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>  "c'mon, lou, dinner's nearly ready! momma and jay are carrying the food out." harry tugged louis over to their chairs, which louis had to climb up due to the fact that he was barely the height of the chair. anne had offered for him to sit at a smaller table but he refused to be treated like a baby.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  throughout the entire dinner, everyone had to help louis when he tried to reach for things, because his arms were so short and could only reach his own plate and cutlery.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  after dinner, all five of them helped to wash the dishes - well, mainly jay and anne did it while harry and gemma helped a little. louis was too short to doing anything.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  once the dishes were done,  jay was getting ready to leave. louis was becoming a little scared, not wanting his mother to leave.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he clung to jay's side, following her around the styles' residence until she reached the front door.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "boo, i gotta leave now." jay squatted down so she was eye-level with louis. "be a good boy for anne, alright? don't cause any trouble."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "okay, momma," louis said in a quiet voice, starting to feel like he wanted to go home with jay.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "you'll be okay." jay stroked louis' hair comfortingly. "if you miss me, you can borrow anne's phone and call me, yeah?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yeah," louis mumbled.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "alright, come here, sweetie." jay opened her arms and louis shuffled into her embrace, holding on tight.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "gonna miss you, momma," louis said quietly.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "it's only gonna be for one night, yeah? tomorrow i'll come bright and early and pick you up, okay?" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "okay."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  jay patted louis' back before pulling back from the hug. she stood up and gave louis a warm smile, patting his hair before she walked out of the front door.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  it was eight when jay left, meaning harry and louis had half an hour to play before bedtime.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i know! let's build a fort!" harry suggested.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis' eyes lit up at the idea of a fort. it would be so fun!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  they quickly ran to anne, asking for extra pillows and blankets. anne laughed when she heard what they were doing. "alright, dears, but keep it down. gemma's got some homework to do."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  they ran back to harry's room, toting piles of blankets and pillows. they looked comical, the piles so high that they covered their faces and all you could see was louis' and harry's legs running along.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  they reached harry's room and dumped all the pillows and blankets on his bed. then they got to work moving things around the room to create space around harry's bed, which they'd build their fort around.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "c'mon, lou! we only got a bit left before mum's gonna make us go to bed." harry took some chairs and put them around the bed.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis spread blankets on top of the chairs while harry searched around the room for more structures to support the fort. they decorated the fort with harry's teddies and a some christmas lights harry had lying around in his room.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  they finished their fort just before bedtime, when anne came into harry's room and chuckled at the sight of the fort. "you boys gonna sleep in that tonight?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yup! me and louis can share my bed," harry explained.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "your bed's a little small, harry."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i don't mind," louis said shyly.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yeah! we can cuddle!" harry said excitedly. louis' cheeks flushed a little when harry mentioned cuddling, but he really wanted to cuddle. harry was always so soft and warm.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne's eyes twinkled knowingly. "alright then, dears. go on and brush your teeth and get into your jammies. louis, i'll go get you a toothbrush and you can borrow a set of harry's pajamas."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne returned with a green toothbrush and pajamas, handing them to louis. "alright, now go get ready for bed."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis and harry went inside harry's bathroom, where harry grabbed his blue toothbrush and his tube of green and blue striped toothpaste, and the two started brushing after they loaded their toothbrushes with toothpaste.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  then they changed into their pajamas, too young to really care about the other seeing them in their undies.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "you boys ready for bed?" anne entered the room again, smiling approvingly at the two boys in their pajamas.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yes, mummy." harry climbed into the fort, pulling louis along with him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis squeaked, unbalanced, and fell face-first onto the bed.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "oops!" harry quickly pulled louis up to check if he was okay.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "hi," louis mumbled, hair all mussed up.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "harry, be careful, louis' quite a bit younger than you," anne scolded. "now come on and sleep."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis and harry tucked themselves under the covers, squished together because harry's bed was quite small.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne ducked beneath the blankets of the fort and tucked the two in, giving both of them a peck on the forehead. "goodnight, boys."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "night, mum," harry said, while louis said, "nighty night, anne."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne smiled and turned off the christmas lights. "if you need anything, come find me, yeah? my room's just down the hallway."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  she reached the door and gave the two one last smile before she turned off the lights and closed the door, leaving a gap so that a big of light could come in.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis shifted a little bit, not sure what to do. there wasn't enough space but he didn't exactly want to be too close to harry either, afraid harry would think he was weird.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "c'mon lou, we gotta squish together or you'll have no space." harry tugged louis closer. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "uh, um, okay." louis shuffled closer, feeling his cheeks heat up. he wasn't sure if it was proper to be so close to harry, but harry felt so comfortable he couldn't help leaning into him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry wriggled around a bit and, when there wasn't anywhere else to put it, put his arm around louis. "that's better."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  unable to resist himself, louis cuddled closer, tucking himself under harry's chin.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "aww, your hair's so soft," harry commented, running his fingers through the strands.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis sighed happily. he loved it when someone played with his hair - jay did it all the time and it was so relaxing.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry giggled at louis' reaction and kept playing with his hair until louis fell asleep.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. the one with the homesickness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <em> harry giggled at louis' reaction and kept playing with his hair until louis fell asleep.</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> - </p>
<p>  harry ran his fingers through louis' hair gently. ever since that night, when he'd learnt that louis was soothed when someone played with his hair, harry would always make sure to stroke louis' hair whenever he was upset.</p>
<p>  louis practically purred and snuggled up to harry, a dopey smile on his face as harry rubbed his scalp, making harry laugh. </p>
<p>  "you're like a little kitten."</p>
<p>  louis rolled his eyes. </p>
<p>  "come on, you really are. my lil' kitten."</p>
<p>  louis snuggled closer, secretly fond of the nickname. </p>
<p>  harry smirked. "see, i told you so."</p>
<p>  louis huffed. "you're a meanie, haz."</p>
<p>  "well, i wasn't such a meanie that night, was i?" harry poked louis' stomach, making him squeal. "huh? i was such a nice and heroic friend."</p>
<p>  louis snorted. "such a humble friend, too."</p>
<p>  "hey!" harry poked louis again. "don't sass me, young man."</p>
<p>  "hey!" louis poked him again. "don't poke me, old man."</p>
<p> - <br/><em><br/>  louis woke up in the middle of the night, frightened to see that it was pitch black in the room, as both anne and gemma had went to sleep so there wasn't any light on in the house.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>  he could feel himself tucked under harry's arm, which was quite comforting, but not comforting enough.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he'd always slept with a nightlight on - he was afraid of the dark - but apparently harry wasn't and didn't need one, which was not very good for a terrified louis.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  what's more, he was homesick.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he missed his momma.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis was already tearing up, wanting so badly to be able to go home, be comforted by his mother, and sleep in his own bed with his blue and green nightlight.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he tried to contain his sniffles, not wanting to wake harry up - but his elbows kept poking harry as he wiped his tears, which soon woke harry up.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry groaned."what?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis froze. uh oh. he didn't mean to wake harry up.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "lou?" harry rubbed his eyes. "you okay?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "um... i'm sorry," louis whimpered.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "what?" harry sat up, and reached around and flicked on a random light switch, turning on the christmas lights around their fort.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he turned to look at louis, who was curled up into a tiny ball and crying.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "lou! what's wrong? are you okay?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis hiccuped. "i-i miss momma."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "ohhh." harry wrapped his arms around louis comfortingly. "it's okay, loubear."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis cried harder. "i wanna go home!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "ummmm." harry wasn't sure what to do. "maybe let's go find my mum, yeah?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  it took a little coaxing for louis to get out of bed, but finally he did and harry guided him to anne's room, flicking on all the light switches he passed so louis wouldn't be so scared.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry knocked on the door and opened it. "mum?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne groaned, rolling over in her bed. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "mum, louis' homesick," harry said loudly, hoping anne would get up and help louis because louis was crying pretty hard.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "huh?" anne sat up, took one glance at a sobbing louis, and quickly got up. "oh, no. louis, dear, do you miss your mummy?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "y-yeah." louis wiped his eyes.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne got out of bed and came over to harry and louis, putting a comforting hand behind louis' back. "come on, now, i'll go make you some tea and you can call your mum, yeah?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  she guided louis to the kitchen, with harry following behind them.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "alright, dear, i'll go make you  some sleepy tea and once you've calmed down we can call your mother." anne patted louis' shoulder. "harry, stay with him while i make the tea, alright?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yes, mum." harry patted louis' hair gently as anne walked away. unconsciously, louis cuddled up to harry, liking the feeling of his hair being patted.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry, remembering that the exact same thing had happened just before they fell asleep, let out a small laugh and continued running his fingers through the soft strands of hair.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  after a while, harry heard louis say in a small voice, "hazzie?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "hmm?" harry said absent-mindedly, continuing to stroke louis' hair.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i-i'm sowwy."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "what for?" harry asked, eyebrows knit together in concern.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "f-for ruining our sleepover... i didn't mean to be such a baby, i'm so sorry," louis sniffled.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "oh, lou..." harry wrapped louis in a comforting hug. "you didn't ruin our sleepover! i had lots of fun with you."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis leaned into harry. "...did you?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yes! lots and lots of fun, i always have fun with you," harry assured him. "don't worry, lou, you didn't ruin our sleepover at all. it's okay that you miss your mummy, i miss mine sometimes too."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "but you don't miss her so much that you cry..."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "aw, lou, you're just special, and not in a bad way. it just means you really love your momma," harry comforted.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  at that moment, anne returned with the tea. "here's your sleepy tea, dear." her eyes sparkled knowingly when she saw louis and harry hugging.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "t'ank you." louis cupped his two hands so that anne could place the cup in the little bowl shape.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "you're welcome, sweetie." anne smiled fondly.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis sipped the tea, eyes widening nervously when he saw that both anne and harry were just watching him drinking tea.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne laughed. "sorry. we didn't mean to make you nervous." she turned away and went to check on gemma.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  when she came back, louis was halfway through his tea. "are you feeling better now?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis nodded.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "alright. you wanna call your mum?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis nodded again.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne pulled out her phone and dialed jay's number. after a few moments, jay answered the phone, and anne said, "hey, jay. so sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night, but louis wants to talk to you."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne handed the phone to louis, which was huge in his tiny hand.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he held it against his ear. "momma?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "lou?" jay's voice was still rough from sleep, but laced heavily with concern. "are you okay?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "momma... miss you," louis mumbled.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "oh, loubear."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i-i sowwy," louis sniffed.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "it's okay, dear. do you want me to come over and take you home?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "uhm..." louis bit his lip. "i-i don't know."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "maybe you want to stay the night with harry? i'll come first thing tomorrow morning and come get you," jay suggested. "what do you want, boo?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "uhmmmm." louis wanted to go home and see his mum, but half of him wanted to stay at harry's. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he didn't want jay to have to get out of bed and come here, he was feeling a lot better now and he wanted to spend the rest of the night tucked under harry's arm, which was now his favorite place in the world.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "m-maybe i could stay here for the rest of the night?" he asked.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "okay, honey. you feeling less homesick now?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "mhmm."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "that's good. now go and sleep, okay? sweet dreams, lou. can you pass the phone back to anne?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis handed the phone to anne. "uhm, mummy wants to talk to you."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "thank you, darling." anne beamed and took the phone. she listened to jay and said a few 'uh huh's and 'okay, i understand's and then she ended the call. "alright, you two, back to bed now. louis, are you done with your tea?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yeah."  louis placed the cup into anne's outstretched hand. "t'ank you."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "no problem, sweetheart. now you two go and sleep, okay?" anne smiled fondly.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "c'mon, lou." harry took louis' tiny hand in his and the two walked back to harry's bedroom, crawling back into harry's bed, and resumed their previous positions - louis tucked safely under harry's arm.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "goodnight, lou," harry yawned.</em>
</p>
<p><em>  "nighty night."</em><br/><br/> - </p>
<p>  "see? everything is gonna be okay, because i'll be there with you the entire time and my arm is your favorite place in the world."</p>
<p>  louis flushed. "that was an exaggeration. i was tiny and i liked being cuddled."</p>
<p>  "okay, fine. maybe my arm isn't your favorite place in the world, but i think it proves that you'll be okay with me, right? and you can call jay anytime you want. you'll be fine, lou." harry kissed louis' nose.</p>
<p>  louis snuggled up to harry. "mmm."</p>
<p>  "feel better now?"</p>
<p>  "yeah," louis said shyly, feeling sleepy.</p>
<p>  "you're falling asleep on me, babe."</p>
<p>  "haz, it's the middle of the night. we're supposed to be asleep."</p>
<p>  harry huffed. "fine." he wrapped his arms around louis and lay down, so louis was forced to lay down too, bouncing on the mattress.</p>
<p>  "hazzie!" louis squeaked.</p>
<p>  "sorry, but we're supposed to be asleep now." harry grinned at the pout on louis' face.</p>
<p>  "dummy," louis mumbled, tucking himself under harry's chin (his actual favorite place in the world - years of cuddling with harry had allowed him to figure out where was best).</p>
<p>  "your dummy," harry corrected, turning off the lamp and pulling louis closer.</p>
<p>  "nighty night, hazzie."</p>
<p>  "nighty night."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. the one with the unrealistic grade skipping</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>disclaimer: i'm not sure how old you need to be for kindergarten and primary school, so i'm going to say kindergarten starts at like 4 and primary at 6. this is probably kinda wrong but i'm going with that after googling a bit. i also have no idea how the education system works, so i'm probably getting things wrong, but let's not worry too much about the technicalities :)</p>
<p>also, yeah this chapter is kind of unrealistic but... whatever</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>one year later</em>
</p>
<p>  "i'm hungry."</p>
<p>  zayn looked at niall. "we just ate lunch, like, an hour ago."</p>
<p>  "well, i'm hungry!" niall repeated. </p>
<p>  liam sighed. "alright, i guess, let's go get some food for niall. what do you want, ni?"</p>
<p>  "uhmmm..." niall thought for a while, before finally saying, "chicken."</p>
<p>  "alright, then."</p>
<p>  the five of them went to the nearest kfc, where niall cheered and bounded inside immediately, followed by the rest of his friends.</p>
<p>  when they emerged, niall was happily munching on a bucket of chicken wings. they were about to keep walking, when louis tugged on harry's sleeve.</p>
<p>  "hm?" harry turned to look at louis. "what's up, babe?"</p>
<p>  "hazza, look!" louis pointed at the store next to the kfc - a pastel colored ice cream store.</p>
<p>  harry looked back at louis, heart almost bursting at louis' shining eyes. "you want ice cream?"</p>
<p>  "uh huh!" louis nodded frantically.</p>
<p>  harry sighed. he didn't want to deny louis, but... "lou, ice cream isn't good for you. we just ate it yesterday, you shouldn't be eating so much."</p>
<p>  "but, harry..." louis gave him his best puppy eyes. "ice cream. please?"</p>
<p>  "lou, i'm sorry, but no."</p>
<p>  "please?"</p>
<p>  "no."</p>
<p>  "pwetty pwease?"</p>
<p>  "lou, for god's sake, no."</p>
<p>  "ice cream!" louis stomped his foot, and let go of harry's hand, which he'd previously been holding.</p>
<p>  harry had known louis for a long time, and tantrums were rare. especially  when louis wasn't six years old.</p>
<p>  "lou, come on..." </p>
<p>  "ha-rreh. ice cream. now."</p>
<p>  harry sighed, rolling his eyes. "fine."</p>
<p>  they went inside the store and soon came out, louis happily licking his ice cream with his hand in harry's.</p>
<p>  niall, liam and zayn had been watching wide-eyed. yeah, they'd know harry and louis for years, but sometimes they could never understand their dynamic. it was... weird.</p>
<p>  "lou, you're an adult and yet you still act like a kid," liam said, half laughing as they kept walking. "it's so weird."</p>
<p>  " 'm not an adult, li. i'm seventeen."</p>
<p>  liam face-palmed. "oh, yeah! damn, i keep forgetting you're still seventeen. you're like two years younger than me but i keep thinking we're the same age."</p>
<p>  "that's because we're in the same year," niall butted in.</p>
<p>  "speaking of which, i need to know - how in the world did you skip two years, lou???" zayn asked. "that's like... crazy."</p>
<p>  harry smirked."i'll have you know he did it only because he missed me."</p>
<p>  louis kicked harry halfheartedly. "don't get too cocky, haz."</p>
<p>  "admit it. you only worked so hard because you were sad you couldn't play with me as much." </p>
<p>  louis pouted. he couldn't deny it... it was true. "you're a meanie," he said in a small voice as his only retaliation.</p>
<p>  harry laughed. "at least i'm a meanie that's got my facts straight."</p>
<p> - <br/><em><br/>  thirteen years ago</em></p>
<p>
  <em>  "hazzie!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "hey, lou!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "guess what?" louis ran towards harry, stopping in front of him and panting.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "what?" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i'm gonna start kindergarten in six months! meaning we can play together there!" louis announced excitedly.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry had started kindergarten three years ago, before he'd met louis. he only went for three hours a day, meaning he and louis could play a lot. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "oh... but lou, i'm starting primary school then, which is different. and i'm going to be there for eight hours."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis' eyes watered a little. "s-so we're not gonna be together?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry shook his head. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis' blue eyes filled with tears. "a-and you're gonna be gone the entire day?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry nodded.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis burst into tears.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "lou! what's wrong?" harry immediately wrapped his arms around louis, comforting him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "w-we can't h-hang out anymore," louis blubbered. " 'cause you're gonna be at the big school all day, and you're gonna meet all your new friends, a-and you'll forget about me..."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i'd never forget about you!" harry declared. "we won't be able to play on weekdays because i'll have homework... but we can always play on the weekends!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis still cried. harry was his only friend and he was going to lose him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "lou, it's gonna be okay, we can still play together!" harry tried to reassure louis.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne, hearing louis' sobs, ran outside to the backyard where louis and harry were.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "louis! are you alright?" anne gently pried harry off of louis and checked louis for any injuries. "what happened?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis hiccuped. "i-i won't be able to play with harry anymore because he's gonna go to primary school and forget about me..."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "awww, louis," anne cooed. "you guys can still play together! you just won't be able to play as much... and harry won't forget about you, ever. right, harry?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry shook his head. "won't forget you ever, lou."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "b-but 'm gonna be all alone on the weekdays... you're my only friend, hazza."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne sighed. "i'm sorry to say we can't really do anything about that, dear..."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  after that day, harry didn't see louis for months.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he felt guilty. it wasn't really his fault that he needed to go to school, but he knew  it was making louis very upset.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he couldn't do anything about it, though. it was what it was.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he missed his best friend... so many people had always told him that he should play with someone his age, but he didn't want to. louis was fun and he was also very pretty.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he sniffled when he thought about louis being upset with him. he hadn't seen him in months... louis must be very, very upset with him...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he sat on the swing in the backyard, swinging his feet sadly against the grass.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  and then, suddenly, anne opened the back door and called, "harry! louis and jay are here!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry immediately jumped up, eyes wide. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis was here? harry had to see him now!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he ran inside the house and saw louis and jay sitting at their dining table, louis' eyes very bright and excited as he fidgeted around in his chair.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  when he saw harry, he perked up. "hazzie! guess what?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "what?" harry asked breathlessly, skidding to a stop right in front of louis and jay.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i'm going to primary school with you!" louis announced, almost bursting with excitement. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry's jaw dropped. "what? but you haven't even started kindergarten yet!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "jay, what's going on?" anne walked towards the dining table after harry.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "louis was really upset that he can't go to school with harry and he wanted to go to primary school immediately. so he just took a really intensive course and finished his kindergarten education in a few months," jay said proudly. "so louis and harry can start primary together."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "really?" harry almost squealed.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "really," jay said, laughing at the delighted look on harry's face.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yay!!!" harry ran over to louis and tackled him in a big hug, which wasn't very comfortable because louis was sitting on a chair. but louis hopped off the chair and wrapped his arms tightly around harry, giggling happily.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "that's great news!" anne smiled fondly at the two boys. "but i can't believe it... louis, you must be a genius if you completed your kindergarten education in a few months..."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "well, he did work very hard for the sake of harry," jay said, winking at anne.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne smirked. "well, it's wonderful news that the two will be able to go to school together so they will already have a friend."</em>
</p>
<p><em>  "yeah." jay's eyes twinkled. "all they'll ever need is each other."<br/></em><br/> - </p>
<p> "awwwww," niall cooed. "you worked your ass off just so you and harry could go to school together. how old were you - four? and you wanted to be with harry that badly?"</p>
<p>  louis turned pink. "hey! he was my best friend and i was sad because i couldn't play with him."</p>
<p>  "was?" harry pinched louis' waist, making him shriek and smack harry's arm.</p>
<p>  "fine, you <em>are</em> my best friend."</p>
<p>  "that's better."</p>
<p>  "but seriously though, lou, how did you finish kindergarten in two months?" liam asked, genuinely curious.</p>
<p>  louis laughed. "oh, come on, kindergarten isn't that hard. besides, i already knew a bit of the stuff they teach, because harry and gemma were always bringing projects and worksheets home."</p>
<p>  "but you were obviously a genius," niall pointed out. "i mean, i knew some of the stuff before i went to kindergarten but i didn't finish my kindergarten education in months."</p>
<p>  "what can i say? my lou's a prodigy," harry said proudly.</p>
<p>  "but... like... didn't you get bullied or something?" zayn asked, causing louis to immediately look at his shoes and harry to tense up.</p>
<p>  "um... yeah..."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. the one with the bullying</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>although louis didn't really remember his first few days of primary school, he remembered how upset he had felt when he'd been bullied.</p>
<p>  before primary school, louis only knew three people who weren't related to him - anne, gemma, and harry. he'd been sheltered his whole life and when he got to primary school and realized that not everyone was very nice, it was a big shock to him.</p>
<p>  harry remembered the bullying. it had been one of the first times harry stood up for louis and protected his tiny hedgehog from the big, bad people in the world.</p>
<p>  "uh... i'm sorry for mentioning it, never mind -" zayn said awkwardly after a few moments of silent.</p>
<p>  "oh! it's okay, zaynie, it's just that it's not the best memory," louis explained. "but harry protected me."</p>
<p> - <br/><em><br/>  it was the first day of primary.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>  louis was nervous - he'd be meeting people a lot bigger and smarter than him - but he knew he had harry, so everything would be okay.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "now, dear, you're all set for your first day." jay combed louis' hair with her fingers and helped him slip on his backpack. "harry, anne and gemma will be here in a few minutes and we can go to school together, yeah?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "momma... 'm scared," louis mumbled, suddenly dreading his first day of school.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "oh, sweetie, everything will be fine," jay assured him. "you've got harry, remember?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yeah... but, momma, there's gonna be so many people..."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "then you can make lots of new friends!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "don't want new friends... i have harry," louis protested.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  jay laughed. "see! you'll be fine, dear. harry will stick with you all day and then when you come home we'll watch 'toons together."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis pouted. he was still scared, but it sounded like an attractive package. "...okay."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  the styles' arrived soon after with harry in the lead, excited for school. "lou! are you ready?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yeah... i guess." louis emerged from inside the kitchen, bangs brushed forward so that they covered his eyes a little. "but i'm scared, hazza."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "aw, lou, it's gonna be okay! i'm gonna be with you the entire time," harry promised. "now, let's go!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne and jay accompanied the children as they walked to school. louis insisted on holding jay's hand, short legs trying desperately to keep up with everyone around him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  when they reached the school gate, louis could see so many other children and he was frightened, hiding behind jay. "momma..."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  jay sighed. "c'mon, boo, don't you wanna go to school with harry?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yeah..."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "well, then, don't be so scared! you can do this!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  encouraged by jay's words, louis stood up a little straighter and slowly emerged from behind his mother. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  they went inside the school and soon arrived at the first grade classroom. gemma said a quick goodbye as she went to find her own classroom, while anne and jay stayed for a little while longer.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  jay squatted so she was eye level with louis. "have a good time at school, okay?  try not to miss home and just enjoy yourself with harry, i promise you'll have a good time. first grade is fun!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "okay," louis said, nervously glancing around at all his new classmates.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  jay gave louis a warm hug and louis tucked his face into the crook of jay's shoulder, not wanting his mother to leave. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i'm gonna go now, okay?" jay stood up, making louis sniffle as their hug ended. "have a good day! i love you."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "love you too," louis replied. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne and jay left together, leaving louis and harry behind. harry, knowing that louis was scared, grabbed his hand. "come on! let's go sit down."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  they headed over to the rug in the front of the room and sat down, along with several of their classmates. their teacher, a sweet, middle-aged lady, sat on a chair in front of her first graders, smiling warmly at each of them.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  after introductions, their teacher arranged for them to sit down at the tables, which were grouped into clusters. jay had requested that louis stay with harry at all times, so louis and harry sat down next to each other.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  their new group mates consisted of of two girls and two other boys. louis thought that the two girls looked pretty nice and friendly, but the two boys looked a little mean. luckily i have harry, he thought.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  after a while, harry needed to go to the bathroom. "i'll be back soon," he told louis before getting up and leaving the classroom.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  now that he was by himself, louis was becoming more nervous and jittery. but it would be okay - harry promised he would be back soon.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "hey! you!" one of the boys whispered harshly, making louis jump a little when he felt an unfamiliar hand clamp down on his arm.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "y-yes?" louis stuttered.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "why are you so small and short? look at you, you're half of my height! you're supposed to be in kindergarten, stupid, not primary school!" the boy said, making the other boy laugh.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis' bottom lip trembled. he knew he was much smaller than everyone else, but he wasn't stupid. right?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  when harry came back, louis decided he needed to go to the bathroom himself. what the boy had said to him really got to him and he wanted to be alone for a while. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he didn't want to get up and ask the teacher for a bathroom break, but his current need to be alone outweighed his fear.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he waddled down the hallway to the bathroom and locked himself into a stall, sinking onto the floor and hugging himself. he knew those boys were being mean and he (probably) wasn't stupid, but... it hurt for someone to say something so mean to him. nobody had ever done that before.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he sniffled, feeling the tears welling up in his eyes. primary school wasn't fun. he wanted his momma to come and pick him up so he could go home and watch cartoons.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis sat there and cried, wondering if it had been a bad idea to come to primary school when he was two years younger than everyone else.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he wanted to go home.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry was getting worried about louis. it had been fifteen minutes and louis was still in there. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he raised his hand. "excuse me, miss? may i go to the bathroom to check on louis?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "oh, um... alright. be back soon," the teacher said. she had barely finished her sentence when harry was already out the door.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he ran to the bathroom and called, "lou? are you in here?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he heard quiet sobs before a stall unlocked and louis emerged, eyes red and cheeks tear-streaked.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "lou! what happened?" harry instantly went into worry mode, grabbing louis' arm to check for injuries.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "t-the boys at o-our table..." louis hiccuped, "t-they made f-fun of me..."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "what?!" harry exploded. "how?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "t-they said i was s-short... a-and stupid..."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry's blood boiled. how dare they make fun of his best friend? "okay, that's it. c'mon, lou, let's go back."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "h-hazzie, n-no, don't wanna see them, please..." louis cried.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "don't worry, lou, i'll protect you," harry said, grabbing louis' hand. "let's go teach them a lesson."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis was against teaching them a lesson, but followed harry back to their classroom. when their teacher saw that louis had been crying, she immediately ran over. "louis, dear, what -"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  but something else soon caught her attention as harry threw himself at the two boys at their table.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  the two fell out of their chairs and the three became a flurry of flying fists and loud screeches of pain.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "boys! stop it! stop it!" their teacher ran over, along with some of the first graders, to separate them. when they were separated, their teacher asked, mortified, "harry styles! what were you doing?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "they were bullying louis!" harry spat, fuming. "no one bullies him!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "that's no reason to hit someone! i'm very disappointed. to the principal's office, all of you!" she ordered.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis stood, frozen, heart beating wildly. was he in trouble? he never meant to be bad.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "m-miss," he said, tugging on her skirt. " 'm sorry."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  their teacher softened. "oh, it's okay, it wasn't your fault, dear. but you'll have to go to the principal too, just to tell them what happened, okay?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry, louis, and the two boys were led out of the classroom by their teacher, and to the principal's office. </em>
</p>
<p><em>  louis was terrified, but harry held his hand to reassure him.<br/></em><br/> - </p>
<p>  "so that was the first appearance of overprotective harry?" niall munched on his chicken wings.</p>
<p>  "pretty much," louis said, laughing at harry's huff of, <em>i'm not overprotective.</em></p>
<p>  "that was very irresponsible of you, harry, you shouldn't have done that," liam reprimanded.</p>
<p>  "oh, come on, li. they were making fun of louis, i <em>had</em> to do something," harry protested.</p>
<p>  "what happened afterwards, though?" zayn asked.</p>
<p>  "uhh... i got told off and suspended for a day, but the other two were suspended for two weeks and had detention for a while," harry said, trying to recall the memories. "it was worth it, though. afterwards no one would bully louis anymore because they knew i would beat them up."</p>
<p>  "i can't believe you were so protective when you were six years old," niall said, shaking his head. "yer crazy, harreh."</p>
<p>  "hey!" harry wrapped his arms around louis and hid his face in louis' neck. "louuuuuuuuuuuu he's bullying me."</p>
<p>  louis giggled. "too bad."</p>
<p>  "hey!" harry stood up straight and poked louis. "i protected you when you were bullied! you're not gonna do the same for me?"</p>
<p>  "nope." louis shook his head and licked his ice cream. </p>
<p>  "you're <em>mean</em>," harry complained.</p>
<p>  "you love me, though," louis said, batting his eyelashes.</p>
<p>  "yeah, i guess i do."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. the one with the new friends</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>two years later</em>
</p>
<p>  "loooouuuiiiiisssss!" niall sang, skipping into their apartment, where louis was writing a paper on the couch.</p>
<p>  all five of them - louis, harry, niall, zayn and liam - all went to the same uni. it was a godsend that the school was the best choice for all of them, because they didn't know what they would do without each other.</p>
<p>  they all lived together, in a shared apartment. niall insisted on taking the room furthest away from liam and zayn's room, stating that they were 'nasty and i won't be able to sleep with you two in the room next to me'. </p>
<p>  "yes, ni?" louis looked up from his laptop.</p>
<p>  "i need your brains, lou." niall plopped down on the couch beside louis. "would you mind if we swapped for a bit while i write my paper?"</p>
<p>  louis rolled his eyes. "ni. i won't undergo surgery just so you can write a paper."</p>
<p>  "awww." niall pouted, flopping onto louis and hugging him tight. "m'gonna fail my paper, lou."</p>
<p>  "no being negative," louis decreed, hands on his hips. "louis does not tolerate negativeness."</p>
<p>  the group liked to call niall and louis the babies of the group - they were the youngest, and the most childish out of the five.</p>
<p>  "how about that time you got an a for your science paper, and then you got mad at yourself because you didn't get a+?" niall asked, eyes twinkling.</p>
<p>  "heyyyyy! that doesn't count," louis protested.</p>
<p>  "does too!" niall retorted, sitting up. </p>
<p>  "does not!" </p>
<p>  "does too!" </p>
<p>  "does not!"</p>
<p>  "you two, keep it down, will you?" harry poked his head out of the bathroom.</p>
<p>  "shut it, hazzie," louis said, squealing when harry walked over and began tickling his sides. "hazzie! noooooooo, stop stop stop, i'm sorry! i'm sorry!"</p>
<p>  "you better be," harry said, not stopping his tickle attack.</p>
<p>  "you two are adorable," niall sighed, watching the couple fight. "my larry heart is thriving."</p>
<p>  both louis and harry looked at niall.</p>
<p>  "what?" niall popped a random chocolate bar into his mouth. "you two really are adorable. i ship."</p>
<p>  "we knew that," liam said, walking in with zayn beside him. "that's why niall has a board filled with pictures of you two in his room."</p>
<p>  niall grinned proudly. "no regrets." </p>
<p>  louis sighed and pinched niall. "you're creepy."  </p>
<p> "i'm just captaining my ship." niall shrugged.</p>
<p>  "you two are cute," zayn said, sitting down on an armchair. </p>
<p>  "louis brings all the cuteness in this relationship," harry said, pecking louis' hair. </p>
<p>  "see!" niall shrieked. "you two are so cute!" </p>
<p> liam laughed. "remember when harry got jealous?" </p>
<p>  "you'll have to be more specific," zayn said, wrinkling his nose. "he gets jealous a lot. like, a lot."</p>
<p>  "zayn!" harry protested. "i've only gotten jealous a few times." </p>
<p>  "that's a lie." niall snorted. "i've counted. ever since you two started dating - so about three years - you've gotten jealous approximately 937 times. and that was all the times that happened in front of me! since we don't spend all of our time together, i'd say there's a fair number of times you got jealous when i wasn't with you guys -" </p>
<p>  "okay, okay," harry surrendered. "i get jealous a lot. so?"</p>
<p>  "so, remember the time where you got so jealous you injured me in that football match?" liam asked, an eyebrow raised. </p>
<p>  harry coughed. "i was twelve." </p>
<p>  "that's the point, dummy." zayn rolled his eyes. "you were twelve, you weren't dating louis. you weren't in love with him or anything. you were just jealous that louis would replace you as his best friend, so you purposely injured liam."</p>
<p>  louis giggled. "i remember." </p>
<p>  niall cackled. "me too! i remember it so well. i'd just moved to this new school and met this crazy smart boy who was, like, one year younger than me - that's you, louis - and then i met this other guy with puppy eyes - that's you, liam - and then smart boy's best friend injures puppy eyes in the football match! it was glorious drama for the new kid, i tell you." </p>
<p>  "the thing is," liam said, amidst laughter, "you did it so well. it wasn't obvious at all, i didn't think that you hated me." </p>
<p>  "i actually kind of did back then, 'cause i was so sure you'd replace me as lou's best friend," harry admitted. </p>
<p>  "you hated all of them," louis pointed out. "niall, zayn and liam. but liam's the only one who got injured 'cause you got the chance during the footie game." </p>
<p>  harry turned red. "fine. i'll admit to that too."  </p>
<p>  "you were way too possessive, even as a twelve-year-old," niall said, shaking his head.</p>
<p>-<br/><em><br/>nine years ago</em></p>
<p>
  <em>  as the new school year came, it brought new classmates. this year, there were five. jimmy wilkins, niall horan, zayn malik, lily green, and liam payne. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis wasn't excited about the new students. after all, he wasn't very good at making friends, so there was no point in being excited.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry wasn't excited about new students, either. he knew how to make friends, but he had louis, and that was enough. he didn't need anybody else.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  so what were the odds that they got seated in a group with three of the new boys? namely, niall, liam and zayn. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "hello!" niall chirped, waving excitedly at the the four other boys. "m'niall!" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "hi, ny-ul," harry said. "you're very small." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "m'not smaller than him," niall said, pointing at louis. niall was indeed smaller than harry, liam, and zayn, but that was because he'd skipped a grade. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis flinched a little when niall pointed at him, so harry glared at niall. "lou's small 'cause he skipped two grades."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "whoa! you must be really smart," liam said, eyes wide. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "um, uh," louis stuttered. "i, um, i'm not smart." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "don't be silly, boo, you're super duper smart!" harry declared. "why'd you call him boo?" zayn asked curiously. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "because that's what his mom calls him, duh," harry said. "lou doesn't mind. do you, lou?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis shook his head shyly. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "how'd you know his momma calls him that?" niall looked at them suspiciously. "are you brothers?" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "nope!" harry shook his head. "we're best friends. i've known him for seven years!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  the three new boys 'oohed' collectively. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "that's a long time," liam commented. he looked at louis. "do you ever get tired of him?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i bet you do," niall said. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry pouted when louis giggled.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "no, i don't," louis said, smiling at harry. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry was still pouting. louis giggled in front of three strangers! he never did that! maybe - a terrifying thought crept into harry's head - maybe louis was going to be friends with these three boys! and leave harry behind! what was harry going to do without his best friend??? </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  as it turned out, harry's prediction was correct. well - half of it. they haven't reached the part where louis leaves harry behind - which harry is sure will happen - but louis definitely had a connection with niall, liam and zayn. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  and harry did not like it. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis was doing exactly what he'd done with harry - open up to someone abnormally fast. but louis was only supposed to open up to harry abnormally fast! and not anyone else! </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  this troubled harry greatly, but he wasn't about to ask louis to stop being friends with them. after all, as harry had heard jay say so many times, louis making friends was good. and harry couldn't take something good from louis, could he?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  so harry had to endure his overwhelming jealousy while watching louis chat with niall, liam and zayn.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry had to admit, he liked the three new boys. they were nice and funny and they made him laugh. except, harry was worried that they'd take louis away, which didn't exactly help him become good friends with niall, zayn and liam. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  the last straw came. friday afternoons had always - always - been the time where gemma would take louis and harry to the ice cream store, and they'd share ice cream while walking around the mall, chatting. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  except, liam had invited them over to his house to watch a movie. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  when liam had offered, both niall and zayn agreed. harry had said, "we can't, we have something to do -" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "can we go, hazzie? please?" louis asked, excitedly glittering orbs looking up at harry. harry looked into those blue eyes, and felt his heart clench. louis was giving up their tradition - a tradition they'd upheld for so many years - so he could watch a movie at this - this newbie's - house. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "s-sure," harry stuttered, feeling betrayed. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yay!" niall and louis cheered. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "right," harry mumbled, trying not to cry. he was really going to lose his best friend. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  in his excitement, a ten-year-old louis didn't notice harry's sadness. a sixteen-year-old gemma did, though.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "haz, what's up?" she asked when harry got home. "you seem so... down."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "go away, gemma," harry snapped, stomping up the stairs and into his room. he lay on his bed, thinking. what was he going to do? </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  an idea popped into his head. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he was going to get his revenge.<br/></em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. the one with the jealous harry</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <em>he was going to get his revenge.</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>  "you were <em>such</em> a dramatic twelve-year-old," louis said, poking harry's dimples.</p>
<p>  when they had begun recounting the story, harry had walked over so he could sit on the couch next to louis. louis had shuffled away to make some space for him, but harry had immediately picked louis up and settled him in his lap.</p>
<p>  so now louis was curled up in harry's lap, head tucked under harry's chin. harry's arms were wrapped possessively around louis, as if trying to conceal him from anyone else's view.</p>
<p>  "i couldn't help it," harry said, shrugging. "i really thought i was going to lose you, and i got jealous. i hated niall, zayn and liam for a while."</p>
<p>  louis cooed, poking harry's dimples again.</p>
<p>  "cut the cute coupley shit," zayn grumbled from his spot tucked under liam's arm.</p>
<p>  "hey!" niall whacked zayn on the arm. "don't tell them to stop. it's cute."</p>
<p>  "don't hit my boyfriend," liam said, smacking niall on the head. "and them being cute is kind of the entire point. it's sickening."</p>
<p>  "no it's not," niall argued. "it warms my larry heart."</p>
<p>  liam and zayn rolled their eyes at the same time, making louis giggle. "you two are cute!"</p>
<p>  niall pouted. "nobody calls <em>me</em> cute."</p>
<p>  "awwwwww." louis stretched out from harry's embrace, causing harry to let out a huff of protest. "you're cute too, nialler," louis said, patting niall's fluffy fake-blonde hair.</p>
<p>  "thanks, lou!" niall grinned.</p>
<p>  "is he cuter than i am?" harry asked, trying to get louis' attention back on him.</p>
<p>  " 'course not. you're the cutest, hazzie," louis said, squeaking a little when harry tugged him back into his chest.</p>
<p>  "nope. you're the cutest, boo," harry declared, booping louis' nose affectionately.</p>
<p>  before the couple could get into the <em>no, you're cuter</em> fight, zayn cleared his throat. "are we continuing with the story or what?"</p>
<p>  "i don't see why we have to," harry grumbled. "it's embarrassing."</p>
<p>  "for you," liam corrected. "not exactly for us. you were some weird, possessive best friend and we were the innocent bystanders."</p>
<p>  "i wasn't a weird, possessive best friend!" harry protested.</p>
<p>  niall snorted. "yes you were. i'm sorry, harold, but do you even remember what you did? it was the most weird, possessive, best friend behaviour i've ever seen in me life."</p>
<p>-<br/><em><br/>  he was going to get his revenge.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>  luckily for harry, he and liam were both on the footie team, and they were going to play a match the following week.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry's plan was simple. and it could be easily masked as an accident. harry was going to make liam pay for stealing his lou from him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  the day of the match, zayn, niall and louis had turned up to support them.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis proudly showed harry the poster he'd made the night before - a large piece of paper with "go hazza!" written in bubble letters. there were footie stickers all over it and harry felt his heart melt at the sight of it. it was kind of a childish poster, but he didn't mind - all he cared was that louis had made it for him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "thanks, lou! it's awesome," harry said, making louis grin happily.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "good luck, hazzie! 'm rooting for you!" louis gave harry one last hug before he bounded to the stands and sat himself between niall and zayn.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  when the game started, harry was trying to balance his focus between playing and spotting opportunities to execute his plan.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  it was a little hard, but an opportunity presented itself after a while. one of the rival team's members had the ball, and liam was chasing after him, trying to get the ball. harry was pretty close to them, and he decided it was time to get his revenge.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he started running towards them, pretending that he was trying to get the ball, too. when he got closer to them, he ran faster, building up his momentum, and when he was inches away from liam, tackled him to the ground. they landed with a sickening crunch.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  there was a collective groan from the crowd as the referee blew his whistle, running towards them. "hey! are you guys okay?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry slowly got up, quickly apologizing to liam. "oh my gosh, i'm so sorry, i tripped, i didn't mean to tackle you -"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "it's okay, i'm fine - ow!" liam rolled over, grabbing his leg, which was bent at a rather unusual angle.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i think he's hurt his leg!" harry told the referee, who knelt down next to liam.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  their coach - a rather burly and beefy guy - ran over too, and said, "alright, i'll carry him to the nurse's office. you guys should continue the match."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "liam, i'm so sorry!" harry said as he watched their coach carry liam away. secretly, however, he was rather happy that his plan had worked - except he felt really guilty. he had just meant to tackle liam and maybe bruise him a bit, but now liam's leg was broken - a pretty serious injury.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  the referee blew his whistle again to catch the attention of the players, and before long the match was continued.after the game, he went to the nurse's office, along with niall, zayn and louis.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "li! are you okay?" louis asked worriedly.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i'm fine, lou," liam answered weakly.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i'm so sorry, dude," harry said, apologies a lot more sincere.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "it's okay, you just tripped," liam consoled him. </em>
</p>
<p><em>  "yeah." harry whispered, guilt overtaking him.</em><br/><br/>-</p>
<p>  "see! it was the most crazy thing i've ever seen in my life," niall said, shaking his head. "you're crazy, harre." </p>
<p>  "and you only properly told us the truth after you and lou started dating," liam chuckled. "if you hadn't, i would've gone my entire life believing you actually tripped." </p>
<p>  "can't believe you hurt me boyfriend like that," zayn said. "you really are some overly possessive monster." </p>
<p>  "lou!!! they're bullying me," harry whined, hiding his face in louis' neck, making louis laugh.</p>
<p>  "aww, hazzie, but what they said was true! you're so crazy." </p>
<p>   "crazy about you." harry poked louis' tummy, making him squeal and the rest to groan. </p>
<p>  "ugh, cut the sappiness," zayn demanded. </p>
<p>  "can't help it," harry said, shrugging. "when you're like me and have a perfect boyfriend, you can't help but be sappy." </p>
<p>  "hey, i've got a perfect boyfriend too!" liam and zayn said simultaneously, making the others laugh.</p>
<p>  "aww, you two are soooo cute!" louis said happily, clapping his hands. </p>
<p>  "nah, lou, we're nothing compared to your cuteness," zayn said, making louis blush. </p>
<p>  "that's true," harry said, cooing as louis hid his face in his hands, "my baby is the cutest of all."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. the one with the cooking</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>one year later</em>
</p>
<p>  harry and louis were cooking in the kitchen during spring break.</p>
<p>  both anne and gemma were out so it was only them, shuffling around the kitchen while chatting to each other. </p>
<p>  "hey, lou, remember when you couldn't cook?" harry asked.</p>
<p>  "yep." louis was chopping up some vegetables (which he disliked, but harry liked them and louis was going to eat them, goddammit) and handed them to harry. "i burnt water." </p>
<p>  "and you nearly set fire to your house," harry reminded him. "there were firefighters and everything, we had to evacuate -" </p>
<p>  "okay, i get it," louis said, irritated. "i sucked at cooking."</p>
<p>  "yep, you were horrible," harry confirmed. "but, i -"</p>
<p>  "you were awesome at cooking, we get it," louis said, rolling his eyes. "chef harry, blah blah blah." </p>
<p>  harry smiled fondly at the expression on louis' face and leaned in to peck his cheek. "yeah, and i taught you how to cook. remember?"</p>
<p>  louis grinned. "mhmm. it was an absolute disaster." </p>
<p>  "yep," harry agreed. "you were an absolute train wreck."</p>
<p>  "you don't need to remind me," louis said, though he was smiling at the memory.</p>
<p>-<br/><em><br/>eight years ago</em></p>
<p>
  <em>  "what do you mean, you can't cook?" harry stared at louis in horror. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis shrugged, a little unsettled by harry's overreaction. "um, i mean i can't cook." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "but, shouldn't everyone be able to cook?" harry demanded. "it's a life skill. what are you going to do if you can't cook? how do you feed yourself?" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "my mom cooks. i eat out. it's pretty simple, harold. not a life crisis." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "but - when you cook you have such satisfaction! i always cook for myself!" harry was shocked by how a twelve-year-old was not capable of cooking three-course meals. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "oh, come on, hazzie. i think you're the only one in our year who cooks on a daily basis. all of us are fed by our moms or we order takeout." louis waved his hand dismissively. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "cooking is a life skill, boobear. come on, i'll teach you." harry dragged louis into his kitchen. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis protested, but harry insisted that it was terribly important to know how to cook. louis reluctantly gave in and put on his apron. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "alright, first thing. scrambled eggs. i think that was the first dish i learned to make," harry said. he went to the fridge and took out a couple of eggs, then went to the cupboard for a bowl. he set everything down on the counter and louis looked at them nervously.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "so you crack your eggs, like this -" harry took an egg and demonstrated. louis followed, taking the other and lightly tapping it on the edge of the bowl before prying open the crack and letting the egg white and yolk fall out into the bowl. "- season them, and then you whisk," harry continued, getting a whisk out of the drawer and handing it to louis. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis took the whisk and stared at it. "um, how do you whisk?" he asked awkwardly. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry took the whisk and looped it around the bowl, and louis watched as the eggs started to mix together. harry whisked halfway through and then handed it back to louis, who continued whisking, although he wasn't very good at it and bits of beaten egg flew out of the bowl. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  after that, harry took out a pan and set it on the stove. "do you know how to turn on the stove?" harry glanced at louis, preparing for the worst. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "of course i do, silly." harry sighed in relief when louis successfully turned on the stove, and a flame sprung to life under the pan. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "alright. so you pour some oil into the pan , and then you wait for the oil to get hot, then you pour your eggs into the pan and use the spatula to scramble them," harry said as he demonstrated. a minute or two later, harry's plate was adorned with perfectly scrambled eggs.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "your turn," harry said, handing louis some eggs. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis sighed. he didn't really see the point in learning to cook, but since harry was so eager about it, he'd do it, godammit. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he cracked his eggs successfully, seasoned them (with too much salt, but louis would never learn that) and began whisking. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  at that moment, harry's phone rang. "sorry, i have to take this. keep cooking, i'll be back," harry said, patting louis' fluffy hair before leaving the kitchen. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  in harry's absence, louis finished whisking his eggs, so he put the pan on the stove, turned it on, poured some oil into it, and dumped his eggs in. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  as harry had instructed, he moved the eggs around with the spatula. soon, however, he got a little bored and decided to run up to his room and get a book so he could read while waiting for the eggs to cook.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he left the eggs in the pan, with the fire still on, and headed up to his room. having organized his books himself, louis had a pretty good idea of where his books were. unfortunately for him, jay had rearranged his books that morning. groaning, louis began shuffling through his different books, looking for one of his favorites. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  while louis was scanning through the different book covers, there was suddenly a loud blaring sound, and harry yelled, "lou!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  frightened, louis ran back downstairs, to see that the fire alarms had been set off and the sprinklers were sprinkling water like crazy. in the kitchen, his pan of (now burnt) eggs were smoking. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry ran into the kitchen, saw the smoking eggs, and gasped. "louis! what did you do?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i-i wanted to get a book while i was waiting for the eggs," louis stammered, as both of them got wet from the sprinklers. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment the loud blaring of a firetruck arrived outside of the tomlinson residence. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "great," harry muttered under his breath. "the firefighters are here." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis' eyes widened. uh oh. "b-but there isn't a fire!" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "well, they don't know that. the alarms were set off, they're bound to come here to check it out. it's their job," harry explained. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  at that moment, the firefighters burst in with their hoses. "where's the fire?" they yelled. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "there isn't a fire, sir, there's just smoke -" harry began to say, when the pan on the stove burst into flames. louis let out a very unflattering squeak, and jumped away from the pan. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "you two, please evacuate the house. we'll take care of it," a firefighter ordered. the two didn't need to be told twice - the ran out of the house, terrified. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "i'm going to be in so much trouble," louis whispered, starting to panic. "mom's going to be so m-mad at me -"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "hey, hey, it's okay," harry said. he'd been a little pissed at his best friend for being so careless, but he had to remind himself that louis had never cooked before and didn't know that he shouldn't leave the pan alone. besides, louis was getting near to a panic attack, and harry didn't want that. it always terrified him to see his best friend in a panic attack, as he worried that louis would choke on something while gasping for air. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "don't worry, boo, it wasn't your fault," harry reassured. "it's okay, jay will understand." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "it's not okay," louis wailed, tears starting to form in his sapphire orbs. "everything's w-wet, m-mom's gonna h-hate me -" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "louis," harry reprimanded sternly. he wrapped his arms around louis tightly."jay loves you, she's not gonna hate you, boo. it wasn't your fault." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis sniffled against harry's damp shirt, wiping away his tears. "m'sorry for getting your shirt wet, hazzie." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry laughed. "you didn't get it wet, the sprinkler did. and it doesn't matter, loubear. what matters is we both got out alive, right?" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis wrapped his arms around harry, resting his head against the taller boy's chest. "right." </em>
</p>
<p><em> "i'm glad you're safe," harry mumbled into louis' hair, cuddling him closer. "i can't imagine what would happen if you weren't."<br/></em><br/>-</p>
<p>  "i think i already had a crush on you back then," harry mused. "i was fourteen, so i was old enough to start having feelings for somebody, eh?"</p>
<p>  louis giggled. "i had a crush on you back then, too. i already started to like you when we first met." </p>
<p>  "awwwww." harry pinched louis' cheek. "pass the oil, please, babe?" </p>
<p>  louis blushed as he handed harry the bottle of oil. "i think lottie found out about your crush on me way before i did." </p>
<p>  harry rolled his eyes. "of course she did. you were the most oblivious person in the world." </p>
<p>  "hey, so were you!" louis defended himself. "i liked you a lot, too. and you didn't notice." </p>
<p>  harry laughed. "yep. we were both the most oblivious people in the entire world." </p>
<p>  louis giggled again, which was music to harry's ears. he swooped down and planted a chaste kiss onto louis' lips, before straightening again to pour the oil into the pan. "when are mom and gems gonna be back?" </p>
<p>  "in an hour or so," louis replied, finishing the vegetables and wiping the knife on a cloth. "gems promised to get me some ice cream," he said happily. </p>
<p>  "i know." harry chuckled, patting louis' head fondly. although louis was already twenty-one to harry's twenty-three, louis could still be such a child sometimes. not that harry minded - louis was adorable. "will you share with me?"  </p>
<p> louis squinted at harry. "what makes you think i will?" </p>
<p>  harry shrugged. "i don't know. maybe your undying love for me?" </p>
<p>  louis scoffed. "hardly a good reason to share my ice cream."</p>
<p>  harry pouted. "loubear, <em>please</em>?"</p>
<p>  "ask gems to get you your own ice cream."</p>
<p>  "but i want to eat your ice cream. my baby's ice cream," harry complained, wrapping an arm around louis' shoulder and kissing louis' hair, "you always make ice cream taste better." </p>
<p>  louis flushed. "fine. only because i love you." </p>
<p>  harry grinned. "only because you love me."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. the one with the proposal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>thirteen years ago</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  louis and harry were lying on the grass in harry's backyard. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  anne and jay had just introduced to the two little boys the idea of same-sex marriage, explaining that although mostly boys and girls would fall in love, boys could love boys and girls could love girls, too. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  harry was thinking about this as the two lay in a comfortable silence. he didn't know much about love, all he knew that to love someone meant to care about someone, and he cared about louis a lot. he also knew that you needed to love the person you would marry, so he decided to ask louis a question. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  he turned his head a little so he could see louis. "hey, lou?" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yeah?" louis tilted his head towards harry. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "when we grow up, will you marry me?" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "okay." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "really?" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "yeah."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  "promise?" </em>
</p>
<p><em>  "promise."</em><br/><br/> -</p>
<p>  "hazzie, where are we going?" </p>
<p>  "shh, i told you it's a secret, boo." </p>
<p>  louis was currently blindfolded and sitting in harry's car, pouting. </p>
<p>  "you know i don't like secrets or surprises, hazzie. you're so mean."</p>
<p>  harry cooed, leaning over quickly to peck louis' cheek before returning to the wheel. "sorry, honey. just wanna surprise you." </p>
<p>  "are you gonna murder me?" louis asked innocently, making harry chuckle. </p>
<p>  "lou, i've been dating you for seven years. if you don't trust me, how has our relationship worked?" </p>
<p>  louis huffed. "i trusted you to not keep secrets or surprise me. you've broken my trust! how do i trust you now?" </p>
<p>  harry laughed. "aww, baby, i promise you'll like this surprise." </p>
<p>  "pinky pwomise?" louis held out his pinky. </p>
<p>  "pinky promise." harry reached out one hand and hooked their pinkies together. "at least i hope you'll like it," harry muttered under his breath, so that louis didn't hear him.</p>
<p>  they spent the rest of the ride in silence, harry humming a little as he drove. </p>
<p>  when they arrived at the destination, harry pulled over and helped louis take off his seatbelt, before saying, "stay here, i'll get out and then help you out." </p>
<p>  harry quickly got out of the car and went to the other side to help louis out (because harry was all about the chivalry). </p>
<p>  "can i take off the blindfold now?" louis stretched his arms out to try to find harry. </p>
<p>  "not just yet." harry grabbed one of louis' hands and interlaced their fingers. "okay, now just follow me." </p>
<p>  the two walked slowly, louis nervously stumbling along as he couldn't see anything at all.</p>
<p>  when harry finally stopped, he let go of louis' hand, who made a desperate grab to get it back, but totally missed.</p>
<p>  "hazzie!" louis whined, disliking the feeling of not knowing where harry was. </p>
<p>  "sorry, babe, just hold on a second, okay?" harry wrapped an arm around louis' waist and kissed him on the cheek before his touch disappeared again. </p>
<p>  a few seconds passed before harry, from somewhere far away, said, "okay, lou, you can take off the blindfold now!"</p>
<p>  louis quickly took it off, glad to regain his sight again, and was shocked by what he saw. </p>
<p>  "surprise!" everyone yelled. </p>
<p>  there literally was everyone - niall, liam, zayn, jay, anne, gemma, all of his siblings, his friends from work, harry's friends from work... </p>
<p>  and where were they - the park? it looked a little different with fairy lights wrapped around the tree trunks - even though it was still daylight, the lights still shined prettily. </p>
<p>  "w-what are you guys surprising me for?" louis asked. </p>
<p> "um, for... this," a voice said behind him. </p>
<p>  louis turned and gasped at harry, who was still dressed in the clothes he'd driven here in, but was now holding a bouquet of pink and white baby's breath flowers - which had presumably been handed to him when louis was still blindfolded. </p>
<p>  "these - uh, these are for you," harry said nervously, holding the bouquet out to louis. </p>
<p>  "t-t'ank you," louis said, taking the flowers and internally cooing at how pretty the flowers were. </p>
<p>  "okay, i, um, i guess i'm just gonna go for it," harry said, running a hand through his curls. "i, um, okay." </p>
<p>  "w-what?" louis' eyes widened when harry pulled out a box from his pocket and slowly got down on one knee. </p>
<p>  "okay, uh, here i go, i guess." harry took a deep, shaky breath and exhaled, trying to calm his nerves, before he looked up at louis, eyes determined. </p>
<p>  "when i met you, you were this adorable little three-year-old who was building a snowman with your mom, and when i came over to say hi, i tripped and fell and made an absolute fool of myself, but you still let me play with you and we made your snowman together, then gemma and mum came along and they had to forcefully drag me away from you -" gemma and anne laughed "- but your mum and mine exchanged numbers and we saw each other the next day and we kept seeing each other every day and we had so much fun, then i had to start school and you cried because we couldn't spend every day together, so your smart ass worked so hard you skipped two grades just so you could be with me." </p>
<p>  louis was giggling, but now tears were streaming down his face - happy tears. he couldn't believe what harry was doing, the same old harry he'd known for most of his life, kneeling down in front of him with that ring in a little black box. </p>
<p>  "and," harry continued, "you were at least two years younger than everyone in our class and people made fun of you so i beat them up, of course i got in trouble but it didn't matter because no one picked on you again. and then when you were ten you met niall and zayn and liam and i was so scared you'd replace me with them and i got so jealous i purposely injured liam in a football match -" niall cackled and liam rubbed his leg from the memory "- but you still hung out with me every day of the week so i wasn't jealous anymore and we made a little friend group with niall and zayn and liam. and then when you were twelve you told me you couldn't cook and i was horrified, so i taught you to make scrambled eggs and you didn't know how to whisk and your eggs were burnt and you set off the fire alarm but you learned. </p>
<p>  "when i met you, you were this quiet and shy and tiny three year-old, and you're still tiny and quiet and shy but now you're this big, grown up twenty-five year-old who absolutely loves cuddles and craves attention and sleeps curled-up like a kitten and drinks tea all the time and loves watching disney movies and always can't reach things on high shelves and calls me a frog and falls asleep everywhere and always makes me carry you around and hates talking to new people and always pushes them away and gets whiny when things don't go the way you want them to and you're super ticklish and you're the cutest thing when you pout and your hands are always cold which annoys me to no end but i love you, i love you so much and i would do anything for you and i couldn't ask for anyone better because even though you annoy me you're so absolutely perfect and you're my bestest friend in the whole world. i love you louis, will you marry me?"</p>
<p>  harry and louis were both crying now, but they were both grinning like crazy and louis sobbed out, "yes, yes i will you big dork," and harry breathed a sigh of relief and put the ring on his finger before jumping up and engulfing louis in his arms and their friends and family were cheering and people they didn't even know where cheering and the sun was shining and the birds were singing and everything was so, so beautiful and so, so right.</p>
<p>  "i love you so much," louis whispered, tears in his eyes as he hugged harry tightly. </p>
<p>  "i love you too," harry murmured, pecking louis' lips. </p>
<p>  they put their foreheads together and smiled, because even though there were so many people around them and anne and jay were crying and niall was crying harder while eating a slice of pizza he'd conjured up from who-knows-where because 'my larry heart', harry and louis were in their own little world of hopes and dreams and so much love.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. fin.</h2></a>
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    <p>that's the end of the book! i hope you enjoyed it!</p><p>if you have any ideas for more chapters, please tell me! i'm definitely open to adding more chapters and expanding this book :) </p><p>this has been a lovely little book to write! i hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it.</p><p>if you enjoyed it, please go and check out my other works on wattpad! it would mean the world to me :)</p><p>all the love, </p><p>the author .x</p>
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